Family Illusions
by Lady Hotaru
Summary: Four years have passed since the scouts have had to worry about enemies to fight, other then their school teachers that is. Now Ami has recieved some news that will change everything, especially when coupled with what Luna and Artemis have found.
1. Family Illusions

It had been four years, four long years since last the scouts had met to decide how to vanquish an enemy. Now they gathered for more simple reasons.  
"Serena! If you don't give me that remote I'm going to—" Raye's voice pierced the quiet afternoon, the last day of freedom before the girls headed back to school for their last year.   
"Nah nah, you'll do what you old sourpuss? Going to sic Chad on me eh?" Serena's words were taunting as she danced out of Raye's grasp, around the small table laden with snack Lita had brought with her, and nearly tripped over Mina's sprawled form, as she lay reading one of Ami's few comics, a practical joke gift from the girls.   
Now Raye's face was as bright red as the sash tied about her Shinto robes, and her fists were clenching by her sides. As quickly as the fit had erupted, Raye calmed, throwing Serena a spiteful smile. "You're just jealous that Darien isn't back yet, and you're not the only one who has someone interested in them anymore!" and with a fling of her long black hair, she sniffed derisively in her friend's direction, and settled back down on the floor, back to Serena's flushed face, and continued her afternoon of channel surfing, manually this time. Lita and Mina tried their best to quiet their fit of giggles, but neither girl could help but burst in laughter. This had become such a regular thing between Serena and Raye now, but still the group found their little disputes amusing, and always worth the wait. Now Lita, who had been lounging comfortably on one of the larger, deep brown leather arm chairs in the room, snapped from her daydreaming long enough to eye Ami as she entered the family room of her house, where the girls had chosen to meet that day. Her friend smiled in return and sank gratefully onto the long couch beside Lita's chair, tapping a letter agitatedly on her knee. "Mom has to work late tonight, she's got an emergency surgery or something. Guess that means you better stay too Lita, and make us some dinner, otherwise I might starve!" Lita agreed with a small grin. It had been a personal joke between them that Ami seriously lacked cooking skills.   
"Whatcha got Ames?" Serena popped her head up from behind the couch, where at first she had been hiding from Raye's coming outburst, but then stayed because she found a letter on the floor from Ami's friend Greg, who had moved away years ago. She didn't know they still spoke to one another.   
"Don't know yet. I went out to get the mail and I actually have some that's not from some college or another." All the girls knew that Ami daily got letters from universities around the world, offering their schools to their overly intelligent friend. Ami reached over to the end table that rested between the couch and chairs and picked up her mothers letter opener, admiring as always the daintiness of it, as she did all her mother's things. Pulling out a single sheet of crisp white paper from the envelope, Ami skimmed the note in silence for a moment, before letting out a tiny gasp. Four heads turned in her direction at the sound, each girl in turn wondering what had so startled their normally calm friend. Seconds passed, turning into minutes as the girls stared at Ami, whose deep ocean eyes could be seen reading and rereading the obviously disturbing letter. Finally, Serena's curiosity broke the silence, as she could hold back no longer.   
"Ames? What's up? Finally got rejected from some crappy clown college or something?? Too smart for them?" She tried to keep her tone light and joking, but even with her usual flippant attitude she could see something was definitely upsetting Ami, the normally predictably reposed. In the silence everyone in the still family room could hear the ancient grandfather clock strike five. Luna and Artemis strolled in the nearly closed door, chatting amiably for a few seconds more before noticing the quiet.   
"What's…wrong?" Artemis questioned Mina as he made the climbed into her lap, his clear eyes blinking slowly as he in turn eyes all the girls, catching sight of Luna disappearing behind the couch to find Serena. Ami, trying to form a reply, opened and closed her lips several times, but not managing to make a sound. Finally she tore her gaze from the paper that had so captivated her, and her glazed glance rested on the window, though not seeing beyond to the courtyard and garden of their country mansion, compliments of her mother's busy doctor schedule. As serenely as though discussing the weather, Ami finally stuttered out a reply.  
" I…I have a sister. She's coming to live with us." 


	2. The Other Side

The pounding of the loud bass greeted her like an old friend as the silver doors to the nightclub opened for her. Kimi Archer made her way expertly around the swarms of bodies, dancing on the swirling, light patterned floor, buying drinks from the underage bartender who happened to be her boyfriend (and so called owner of the establishment), flooding in and out of the 'the cages', the only safe place to sit down which consisted of a floor carpeted by bean bags and pillows, enclosed by ceiling high chain link fence woven with Christmas lights that winked on and off in time to the music. Pushing a half drunk blonde that looked like a twelve year old playing with her mother's cosmetics (and who happened to be flirting badly with Scott) out of her way, Kimi slid onto one of the bar stools, slashing a smile as Scott pushed a bottle of water her way, his perfect pearly whites doing the same in return. Hi pale green eyes took in her outfit appreciatively and Kimi allowed herself a quick moment of triumph. She had taken forever to get dressed, examining each piece of clothing with a trained eye, finding fault with each outfit. Settling on a belly shirt with off-shoulder sleeves and a pair of white washed jeans, hole in one knee and snug fitting, had almost been forced upon her, since Warren, her father like butler, had threatened not to call the driver if she wore anything more revealing. Exasperated, Kimi had rushed out; feeling almost excited, like going out tonight was like old times. Remembering now why she had requested her friends to meet her here, Kimi sipped the cool water, her attitude now deflated, wallowing in her own misery until Scott, waving energetically over her head at someone, snapped her out of it.   
"Hey guys!" hoarse from having shouted at customers over the music all night, Scott greeted the trio that approached them. It was obvious on first glance that these were all the children from well to do families. The two girls that stepped up were in a varying array of clothes similar to those sitting on Kimi's floor at home, where she had discarded them as not good enough. The taller of the two, with shimmery golden hair the bounced to her shoulder and fell just so over one eye was Alice, the first friend she had made when she had moved with her father to America after her parents split up.   
Alice was what every girl wanted to be. Tall, slim, blonde...Beautiful.   
The boy that stopped beside Alice obviously acknowledged the fact that the entirety of the male population of the club adored her, as he moved to put an arm around her waist possessively.   
She laughed at him, but didn't object. Who would? Luke was every girl's dream the way Alice was every guy's. Tall, yet always seeming the right height for everything, well built with a hint of a tan, light blonde hair combed to perfection. The two definitely went well together.  
The third member, a shorter, petite girl with mousy brown hair that was dyed to a rich ebony, intelligent hazel eyes, and a bright smile, topped with her vintage style of dress, hopped right up to Kimi and wrapped her in a playful embrace.   
"Cheer up Kim! You sounded so down on the phone! Or maybe my cell is just screwing up..."  
Returning the embrace, Kimi couldn't help but laugh at her friend. Jazzlyn, affectionately (and sometimes not so) referred to as Jazz, always wanted everyone to be happy. The concept of sadness didn't fit into her party-throwing, night clubbing, schedule. Scott yelled at one of the waitresses that he would be back before jumping up on the bar and down in the midst of his friends.   
Kimi took a moment to examine the guy she had been with practically her entire jr. high and high school life.   
Scott pulled off everything he did with an air of mystery. His deep tan, spiked black hair, and equally dark eyes added to the effect. They often teased Scott about his eyes. 'Soulless' the group called them, the never-ending darkness that seemed to swallow Kimi up every time she glanced at them.   
Her second glance at her friends revealed more to her, however. Almost from reflex she called up a short litany she seemed to have always known, the chant taking a mere moment before the shadows came. Atop her friends shoulders dark forms seemed to flow from the void of space itself. Over the years Kim had learned to study these creatures, whatever they were, to detect a person's true soul, their honest view of life itself. Dismissing the familiar figures the next moment, Kim forced her eyes to focus, to see the real world.  
"What'd ya wanna talk to us about girl?" Alice tried yelling over the speaker that reverberated with a heavy drumbeat.   
Kimi only caught her gist because when one spent nights in such loud places with so many distractions, one got use to reading lips. Pointing towards the door that led to Scott's father's office, which the gang had redone to their liking, Kimi led the group to their real hangout, where she and Scott could be found most often. It was quieter, and much more private. Both she and Jazz slid onto the large but bare oaken desk and waited as Luke sank down onto one of the corner bean bad chairs, proceeded to pull Alice onto his lap, and Scott bolted the door. Instantly the noise level dropped dramatically, and silence (or as close to silent as it ever truly got) reigned for a few moments.   
As Scott strolled over to casually lean on the desk beside her, Kimi answered the earlier question.  
"Look. There really is no easy way to say this, so-"  
At which point Luke gave Scott a lewd wink and interrupted with "-you're going to have a baby! Awe Kimi! How sweet!"   
Laughter bubbled from everyone as Alice playfully whacked his arm and Scott raised a not so threatening fist. It took near five minutes before Kimi could open her mouth without anyone relapsing into giggles, which would get them all started again.   
"Ok, now Really!" Here she shot Luke a chilling look that brought a smile to his face. "A couple days ago my dad called me in his office and told me he had some big news. We all knows that means the courts have screwed up your life again." Everyone in the room had divorced parents except Jazz, and hers might as well have been. They all knew that the court system regularly got its' entertainment by messing up teenage lives, mainly theirs. "He pulled out some letter, which I knew would be some stupid new court order, and gave it to me." Another pause, this time so Kimi could gain control of her voice. She was usually the completely controlled one of the group, and her emotions could rarely be seen unless you knew her extremely well. Instantly the group knew something big was up, and big usually meant bad for them.   
Scott laid a reassuring hand on her arm, and Jazz smoothed her thick black mane, it's two cherry red streaks that began at her temples were french braided back to join together, and her friend fingered the little bauble tied at the end, giving Kimi a smile.   
Taking a deep breath, she went on. "They say I have to go live with my mother and sister, that my dad can't raise me correctly or something."  
To her surprise, the group seemed relieved.   
"Oh Kimi is that all?" Alice's voice rang out in a tone slightly higher then her normal one, as she had been on edge, expecting something big. "Where do they live? Outta town? No biggie, we'll just have to drive a little longer to see you and -" Kimi cut her off there.  
"They live in Tokyo. In Japan. I'm leaving America."  
The shadows were crying now. 


	3. Hints of the Past

The heavy ticking of the clock was heard most prominently for a few stunned moments, before Mina finally slid up from the floor onto the couch, Artemis trotting over to Ami and sitting beside her, eyes scanning the letter over her arm.   
"Ami? You don't have a sister, do you?" the blonde questioned quietly, almost as though she doubted what her friend had just told the group.   
"Yeah Ames, you don't have a sister! And be glad, when I had Rini around..GAW!" Serena's exclamation seemed too loud for the still quiet room, but she didn't notice, just like the girls didn't listen to her comments about her future daughter. They knew well enough how much their leader cried when the girl had to go back to the future.   
Luna, joining Artemis on the couch, spoke up. "Please hold on girls. I'm sure there's some explanation for this announcement. Ami, do you or don't you have a sister?"  
To this, Ami didn't seem to have an answer for a few moments. She still seemed to be in shock. Finally, she blinked, brushed a strand of her blue tinted hair from her face, and licked her lips in preparation to talk.   
"Well, truthfully I don't remember much, but I think I remember having one. I was really little, like maybe 3, but I think I remember someone else before my parents divorced. My dad lives in America, so that part makes sense."  
The tenseness seemed to grow at Ami's mention of her father. The family, and the girls, never spoke about him, since the one time Mina had over heard Mrs. Mizuno on the phone right after the divorce, crying because of something the man had said. At least they supposed that's why.   
Serena slowly stood up and climbed over the back of the couch to sit by Ami, putting an arm around her friend and giving one of her soul-lifting smiles.   
"Don't worry Ames, it won't be that bad really. I mean Sammy's a pain and all, but the kid's got his cute points. And this girl, what's her name? She can hang out with us, and be our little lackey and fetch us snacks and it's going to be great!"   
The other girls nodded their approval of this idea, and slowly Ami came around.  
"Yeah," She murmered that night before drifting off to sleep, the revolving lamp Lita had given her for her birthday that year splaying faded images of swirling dancers on her pale blue walls. "She won't be that bad.....I hope."  
***  
Three days had passed, and already Kimi was packed. She stayed away from her corner of their five bedroom house as often as possible, even staying past cufew at Scott's. The whole wing just seemed so bare, without her blaring music, wild posters; basically stripped bare of her entire personality. Her boxes had been shipped to her mother's house in Tokyo yesterday, and all she had left was an extra mattress to sleep on and what she was carrying on the plane with her, just a change of clothes and her walkman. If she drowned herself in music long enough, maybe this nightmare would go away.   
Her friends had thrown her a wild party at the Club, where half of the school had shown up, most of them not even invited. She and Scott had locked themselves in the quiet office, where they said their own goodbyes.  
"Maybe it'll bring ya luck or something Kim," was what he had said as he had fastened the barely there chain of the delicate pendent. It looked like an introverted diamond, sixed sided, and she was delighted when, as she touched it, it instantly changed to a never ending ebony. Turning with a smile, she had wrapped her arms around his neck and given him a small peck on the lips. The embrace seemed to last barely seconds, when in actuallity it was minutes, before the rest of the group had bust into the room, thanks to Jazz's lock picking skills, and broken the couple up.   
With a heavy sigh Kim focused on the dreary day outside of the tinted limo windows. Here she was, on her way to the airport to leave everything and everyone she loved behind, and even the weather had joined in her sorrow. Dark cloud had filled the skies as soon as her driver had pulled away from Scott's, where it had picked her up. She was loathe to pull away from his arms, to climb into that cage, and forever bind herself to her mother and her new life. But she was given no choice in this matter. For the first time in her life, she was a puppet dancing in someone else's game. And she didn't like it one little bit.   
Closing her eyes, she nestled into the corner, pulling the collar of her thin leather jacket up around her, flipped to her favorite station using the back seat controls, and fell into the musical void that was Coldplay and Incubus.   
**She was somewhere very dank and foggy place. Glancing around her, she saw that everything seemed to glow a brilliant white depiste the fact that it seemed like it was nighttime. Half toppled collums of white marbles and cracked tiles of like material were littered about the small field that she could see, and it was on such a tile that a small ball of bluish black light was forming. "Man, this looks like some kinda flash back scene in a movie." Her head tilted slightly, she advanced to the light, watching intirgued as it grew to about the size of a volley ball, the seemed to pulse once, and fade into a human figure. **  
"Look at the stars,  
Look how they shine foooor you..."  
The lyrics drifted her from her dream world into reality as she began humming them even in her uncouncious state. They had just arrived at the airport and her driver was getting ready to open her door to awaken her.  
Clutching her necklace, desperately wishing she were with Scott and her friends, Kimi showed her ticket to the stewardess and settled into her cramped seat, preparing herself to greet her 'new family'. 


	4. About Character

I thought I would be kind and let you in on a little bit more of Kimi's past. Obviously, I can't tell you Everything yet, because it would ruin the story. But here are a few bare facts about the character so you get a decent idea of what she's like. Some details will change as the story goes, like how she received her necklace, etc. Small things. This is just a rough outline of her personality and junk. The rest will come later in the story, as I've stated.  
  
  
  
Kimi Archer  
Kimiko Mizuno  
Name: Kimiko Mizuno (Kimi Archer)  
Age: 15 (but in 9th grade. When she moved to Tokyo, the school year was already halfway through, so she waited to begin, which let her brush up on Japanese. Mrs. Mizuno thought it wiser to let her finish out at least that grade before trying to skip.)  
Job: Very disgruntled kid sister and student  
Hobbies: Observing people, keeping notes of her thoughts, trying to live up to her sister secretly, horseback riding, kick boxing, singing privately. She doesn't sing anymore because it was something she and her father did and it reminds her of him too much.  
Appearance: At 5'3", she often gets a lot of comments about her small stature. She has more of an hour glass figure then most girls her age, with a tiny waist that expand into hips that are often posed sassily at someone. Her hair, which was originally a rich golden blonde, is now black streaked in a visibly bright red. Her eyes are naturally a bright blue, but she wears colored contacts to make them seem black with a ring of gold around the iris. When in school she dresses modestly, with cute shirts of bright colors and jeans. When out on the streets with her friends, she's almost always dressing in tight crop tops or spaghetti straps, with tighter jeans or cutoffs. Her skin tone isn't very dark, but she wouldn't be considered pale either.  
  
Attitude: She's really more of a tomboy then anything, since she's always lived with her dad. At school and at home, everyone thinks she's a sweet little angel, but when she hits the streets with her friends, she surprises everyone. She's had everything she ever wanted since she was little, because her family is extremely wealthy, but she's only developed a slight spoiled child demeanor. When she was 5, her father had her tested to see if she had as high an intelligence level as the rest of the family. It was found she had an extremely high level for puzzles and quizzical questions, and her vocabulary was large for a girl her age. She gets picked on sometimes for being so smart, but she's learned to answer with her fist instead of words. Her tough girl attitude often gets in her way of making friends. She has a few, but they're mainly just the bullies of the school who were too afraid of her to make fun of her. Now that she's moved to Tokyo, she's trying to change, but it isn't easy. She gets a lot of crap thrown at her because of Ami's brilliance, and people don't think she can live up to it. The kids tease her about being like her sister, and her bully attitude naturally comes out.  
  
Background: When she was a year old, her mother and father divorced, leaving her sister Ami and herself somewhat distanced. She moved to America with her father, and Ami stayed in Tokyo with their mother. Since the responsibility of raising them was split, so was the family fortune. In attempts to make it easier for his daughter to fit in, her father changed their last name is his mothers maiden name and started calling his daughter Kimi. Kimi Archer. After the little family found out Kimi's intelligence was as high as the rest of theirs, her father sent her to a special private school in Florida, and then moved their residence there. She had been attending Corinth Private Girls School for 9 years, starting in kindergarten, they suddenly receive a court order, stating Kimi needs to live with her mother from now on, due to some gibberish about 'girl growth'. Needless to say the transition was very painful to father and daughter, and as a going away present she gave her a beautiful necklace. It was a diamond pendent, introverted, with six sides, which changes colors according to her mood. As he kissed her goodbye he told her that perhaps it would be lucky for her, and to behave for her mother. When Kimi arrived in Tokyo, she was greeted by an empty waiting room at the airport. (story cropped here to not give away things) 


End file.
